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Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015). Born Elisabeth Howard on December 21, 1926, in Brussels, Belgium, to missionary parents, Elisabeth Elliot was an American missionary, author, and speaker known for her writings on faith and suffering. Raised in a devout family, she moved to the U.S. as a child and graduated from Wheaton College in 1948 with a degree in Greek. In 1952, she went to Ecuador as a missionary, where she met and married Jim Elliot in 1953. After Jim and four others were killed by Waorani tribesmen in 1956, Elisabeth continued ministering to the Waorani, living among them with her daughter, Valerie, for two years, leading to many conversions. She returned to the U.S. in 1963, becoming a prolific author and speaker, penning Through Gates of Splendor (1957), Shadow of the Almighty (1958), Passion and Purity (1984), and Let Me Be a Woman (1976), emphasizing obedience to God. Elliot hosted the radio program Gateway to Joy from 1988 to 2001, reaching a global audience. Married three times—to Jim Elliot, Addison Leitch (1969–1973, until his death), and Lars Gren (1977–2015)—she died of dementia on June 15, 2015, in Magnolia, Massachusetts. Elliot said, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.”
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Elisabeth Elliot emphasizes the importance of being still before God amidst chaos and destruction, drawing inspiration from Thomas Carlyle and Psalm 46. She highlights the power of quieting our souls before the Lord, allowing His voice to bring peace in the midst of turmoil. Elliot encourages listeners to listen for God's voice, the only one that speaks peace to the deepest part of our beings.
Shut Up and Know
"Do thou thyself but hold thy tongue for one day, and on the morrow how much clearer are thy purpose and duties," wrote Thomas Carlyle. The psalmist wrote (in Psalm 46) of great cataclysms, noise, war, destruction. What is the man of God supposed to do in the middle of all that? One thing above all else: "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10 AV). Simply shut up for a change. It is amazing what the quiet holding of the soul before the Lord will do to the external and seemingly uncontrollable tumult around us. It is in that stillness that the Voice will be heard, the only voice in all the universe that speaks peace to the deepest part of us. No other voice than Thine has ever spoken, O Lord, to me-- No other words but Thine the stillness broken Of life's lone sea. There openeth the spirit's silent chamber No other hand-- No other lips can speak the language tender, Speech of the Fatherland. (T.S.M., from Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others, Frances Bevan)
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Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015). Born Elisabeth Howard on December 21, 1926, in Brussels, Belgium, to missionary parents, Elisabeth Elliot was an American missionary, author, and speaker known for her writings on faith and suffering. Raised in a devout family, she moved to the U.S. as a child and graduated from Wheaton College in 1948 with a degree in Greek. In 1952, she went to Ecuador as a missionary, where she met and married Jim Elliot in 1953. After Jim and four others were killed by Waorani tribesmen in 1956, Elisabeth continued ministering to the Waorani, living among them with her daughter, Valerie, for two years, leading to many conversions. She returned to the U.S. in 1963, becoming a prolific author and speaker, penning Through Gates of Splendor (1957), Shadow of the Almighty (1958), Passion and Purity (1984), and Let Me Be a Woman (1976), emphasizing obedience to God. Elliot hosted the radio program Gateway to Joy from 1988 to 2001, reaching a global audience. Married three times—to Jim Elliot, Addison Leitch (1969–1973, until his death), and Lars Gren (1977–2015)—she died of dementia on June 15, 2015, in Magnolia, Massachusetts. Elliot said, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.”